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Playable Chaarcters
In General
- Anime Hair: Lots of big and spiky hair. Some of it defies gravity.
- Costume Porn: Chopin must have minored in fashion to think up all these Impossibly Cool Clothes.
- Instrument of Murder: Going along with the music motifs, a number of characters use weapons shaped like instruments.
- Older Than They Look or Younger Than They Look: Due to the graphics, everyone in the main party looks anywhere from twelve to seventeen, even Frederic, who IRL died at 38. Notable exceptions are Legato and Tuba who genuinely look middle-aged. Beat, March and Salsa are all kids and therefore really are as young as they look.
- Rummage Sale Reject: Even the royals. The characters are brimming with this. Allegretto has complex boots, a belt over his shirt and other flourishes. Frederic Chopin sports a top hat with a feather, an elaborate cloak, boots and a stopwatch. Crescendo again has a belted vest, complex boots, cuffs another other finery. And the list just goes on.
- Theme Naming: Everyone but Chopin's name is named after a music term. Then again, Chopin himself may be a synonym for music.
Main Characters
Allegretto
Voice Actors: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Sam Riegel (English)
The main protagonist. A young thief in Ritardando stealing high-priced bread from the main city to the poor children in the sewers. He naturally dislikes the job because it also makes those he robs into victims, but doesn't seem to find an alternative for getting bread until he realizes that Count Waltz, the leader of Forte, is putting higher taxes on bread but barely prices mineral powder. He sets off to Forte to consult Waltz to see if there's any possibility to make the taxes even, but he later finds that Waltz isn't all too obliged...
His main weapon during battle is a standard longsword.
- Bash Brothers: With Beat; they work together and fight together.
- Character Tics: He tends to be very expressive with his hands when talking.
- Crapsack World: Allegretto believes that any world where good people needlessly suffer, including his own and the player's, is a lousy place to live.
- Friend to All Children: In the PS3 version with his Robin Hood act.
- The Leader: Of The Team. The other characters defer to him for some reason. At one point, Viola refers to him as "fearless leader," though admittedly mockingly.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Downplayed as he is less naive than Beat but believes he can talk Count Waltz out of the high taxes for everything except Mineral Powder.
- Instrument of Murder: The hilt of his sword is shaped like the neck of a Cello.
- Jerkass: Allegretto's interactions with Beat can sometimes come off as less 'playful' and more 'just plain nasty', as well as the time he ditched atoning for his crimes so he could spend time with his crush, leaving the rest of the party to do all the dirty work. Not to mention that time in Double Reed Tower when Beat explains the emotional significance of his camera, it being a cherished possession left to him by his father...and Allegretto immediately teases him about it, makes him cry and run away, and acts like it was no big deal that he just dismissed an important part of Beat's life. When Polka explains what Beat was feeling, Allegretto dismisses her too, though marginally less blatantly, since he likes her. Interestingly, this scene does not occur in the PS3 version.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: More pronounced when he mocks Fréderic, and blows off atoning for his various crimes, forcing the responsibility on to Beat and co. to go and hang out with Polka. However, he genuinely cares about Polka and there's his Robin Hood act.
- Just Like Robin Hood: He steals bread and gives it to orphans living in the sewer.
- Light 'em Up: Starlight Blast
- Lightning Bruiser: One of the faster members of the party, and definitely one of the strongest.
- Playing with Fire: Sun Slash and Fire Wave.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man to Beat's Sensitive Guy because he is aggressive, uses a sword, and derides the camera.
- Supporting Protagonist: To Polka; he is the viewpoint character and the main player avatar, but the plot is more concerned with her.
Polka
Voice Actors: Aya Hirano (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)
An ill girl from Tenuto who sells floral powder in Ritardando, as well as a magic user. Her illness has an impact on her life by slowly shortening it as time goes on, and because of her illness, many people tend to stay away from her, thinking that her illness is linked to her magic, and is contagious. She is confronted by Frédéric François Chopin at one night, and believes that since he can use magic, he is destined to die as well, allowing her to relate to him more easily and even become friends. Like Allegretto, she heads to Forte to see if there is a possibility to make taxing on mineral powder even, so she could sell floral power more easily.
Her weapon of choice is a Parasol of Pain.
- All-Loving Hero: All Polka wants to do is help other people, even if the same people that she heals treat her like a leper because they think her illness is contagious.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Downplayed. She's adored in her hometown but outside she is shunned because of her magic.
- Apologises a Lot: Both in battle and out, she often says she's sorry.
- Combat Medic: Later on, she can become this because she gains potent attack magic in addition to potent healing magic.
- Girlish Pigtails: Two long strands of hair trail behind her to highlight her girlishness.
- Flower Motifs: Four Leaf Clovers.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: This soft, feminine, ill girl has a sweet disposition and long golden hair.
- The Heart: The moral compass for The Team. For instance, she was the only one to question whether they should steal Dolce's (stolen) treasure.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She has to do it again and again and again to preserve the "dream world" until Chopin comes along and changes things.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: She's willing to give anyone the benfit of the doubt and believes she can talk to Count Waltz and make him understand how the taxes on Floral Powder are making it hard for her family to make ends meet.
- Innocent Flower Girl: She fits it so well she's the page image; an innocent and ill girl who sells Floral Powder.
- Instrument of Murder: Look closely and you'll notice that her parasol resembles a flute.
- Magikarp Power: She has rather low HP and Defense, is an average Echo builder, and while having long range attacks (Shade Comet, Shooting Star) along with good short-range Skills (Disruption Wave, Nether Wave), she gets more overshadowded as more characters are introduced. However, as she levels up, she can learn Earth Heal, which heals everyone else except her, but at a higher power than Viola's Heal Arrow, and if she goes further, she'll learn Blossom Shower, the best healing Skill, which heals the entire party in the field.
- The Medic: She has more healing spells than anyone else and they are the most potent.
- Messianic Archetype: Dies to save others and is reborn afterword.
- Parasol of Pain: As a Proper Lady in the making, her weapon is a parasol.
- Plucky Girl: Usually she keeps her spirits up through adversity, though the game makes it apparent that she isn't always plucky.
- The Pollyanna: invoked in that she keeps up the act for the sake of the rest of the party. The weight of her condition brings her down, but she only really angsts about it when she's alone with her mother.
- Red Mage: Downplayed, as while she can use magic and heal proficiently, she doesn't do quite enough damage to fully take this trope until much later.
- Soap Opera Disease: Her illness has no symptoms except her magic power and its terminal nature adds drama and informs her character.
- Squishy Wizard: Her magic (especially healing magic) is powerful but her parasol is not and she can't take hits as well as others.
- Stepford Smiler: Acts happy-go-lucky around the party, but is shown to be frustrated with her lot in life when she's alone with her mom.
Frédéric François Chopin
Voice Actors: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
The Tritagonist of the game. A composer, a pianist, and a bit of a romanticist born in a village in Warsaw. His fame through the piano rose at an early age, and his skills even allowed him to perform a rondo at the age of 14. During the Polish November 1830 Uprising, he settled in Paris and made a living as a composer and a pianist teacher. He also became acquainted with George Sand, a woman with an odd, masculine appearance, and the two have been close friends to his death.
On his deathbed, where he lies as the illness, supposedly tuberculosis, continues to weaken his little life left, he begins to dream a world of fantasy, with swords, magic, and monsters all in harmony with the plays of music. After confronting Polka, who also has a disease that shortens her life, in the dream's world, he decides to support her, as well as the party, while he tries to understand the true nature of his dream.
His weapon of choice is a conductor's baton. There is also power within his melodies!
- Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Frederic Francois Chopin was a real life Polish pianist, but here, he's a mysterious traveler.
- Cloudcuckoolander: In story the rest of the party find him a bit odd at times given that he acts.... well, like he's stuck in a dream.
- Elegant Classical Musician: This to a T.
- Final Boss: After dealing with Legato (as well as Count Waltz in the PS3 version), he challenges the party to a final battle, convinced that he must confront the others so that his soul might finally find rest and to stop the destruction of the dream world.
- Dark Reprise:
- His battle quotes don't change at all, but they seem a lot more sinister when they're directed at YOU (particularly his "soulless creatures" taunt.)
- A more straight example: the final boss theme is a dark reprise of his Op. 10 No. 12 Étude In C Minor ("Revolution").
- Dream Sue: Considering the story takes place inside his dream, and he is aware of this, he expects himself to be all-powerful. It baffles him that he isn't and the others mock him because he's not. At least, not until the end when it finally counts and he can save Polka.
- Glass Cannon: Chopin is very frail, but is always able to deal out pretty good damage. Once he gets Phantom Pain, this becomes even more clear. Justified by the fact that he's dying of tuberculosis.
- Historical Beauty Update: Chopin was a gorgeous hunk in Real Life, but he's an outright Pretty Boy in this game.
- Historical Domain Character: Based on the real-life composer of the same name.
- Improbable Weapon User: His sword is suspiciously similar to a conductor's baton.
- The Last Dance: He pulls out all the stops for the battle. He whips out a couple of spells and specials that he can't even use in normal gameplay, plus a more powerful version of his "Orzel Bialy" attack.
- Older Than They Look: He's thirty-nine. He looks about twenty. Keep in mind that, due to his various illnesses, the Real Life Chopin was actually younger than he looked.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: A suit, tie and a top hat. He's more formally dressed than his party members.
- Squishy Wizard: He's a frail healer.
- The Smart Guy: He's the only one in the group with a formal education and is found of thinking out loud about current events and hidden motivations.
- Soap Opera Disease: Like Polka but different considering he's dreaming. The real Chopin was diagnosed with tuberculosis, so it's safe to assume that Chopin here has the same disease.
- Superpower Lottery: Most of his attacks classify as Light 'em Up, Casting a Shadow, Shock and Awe, and Playing with Fire.
- Took a Level in Badass: When he moved into the dream world, he became powerful. The real Chopin regretted not being able to fight alongside his countrymen in the revolution in Poland. He's clearly enjoying his power in the dream world - "Strength that all can see!"
- Your Mind Makes It Real: His state relative to the state of the world is ambiguous. Check the WMG page for details.
- Unexplained Recovery: If he beats the other heroes (I.e. the player character) in the final battle, the dream ends and he wakes up and then goes back to sleep. In an interesting subversion, paying attention to his eyes shows that they white out before his eyes close, meaning it's likely he died anyway. This is why it's the Downer Ending.
Beat
Voice Actors: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)
A naive young boy residing with Allegretto and the rest of the kids in Ritardando. He hangs around with Allegretto and helps him with taking the bread for the kids, but mostly does whatever he can to assist him, and goes with him on the journey to Forte. He holds an old camera that was handed to him by someone, and claims that it's a memeto.
His weapon is a hybrid of a gun and a hammer, capable of giving a fast rise to the Echo Counter.
- Badass Adorable: He's a short and cheerful child with deadly aim.
- Bash Brothers: With Allegretto; they work together and fight together.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He may be a nice kid and all, but don't get on his bad side if you know what's good for you. Tuba learned this the hard way.
- Brainy Brunette: He's more interested in learning about the world with his camera than his grey haired friend.
- Camera Fiend: He likes taking pictures of everything, up to and including boss monsters.
- Cheerful Child: Consistently upbeat through-out their adventure.
- Crossdressing Voices: With Mona Marshall as his VA, this isn't too much of a surprise.
- First-Person Snapshooter: He has both light and dark skills for his camera.
- Glass Cannon: He can do significant damage both upclose and from a distance but it's better to keep him at a distance because he can't take much damage himself.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: His weapon is a combination gun, mallet and clarinet.
- Jack of All Stats: He starts out like this, but over the game, his weak stat growths have him end up as a Master of None.
- The Lancer: He's Retto's sidekick and strikes a contrast with him; childish, naive, long distance attacker, etc.
- More Dakka: He can shoot a good amount of times at a distance during his turn.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensative Guy to Allegretto's Manly Man; friendly, polite, likes taking photographs of the world.
- Tagalong Kid: His purpose for the adventure is following Allegretto.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: In the PS3 version, his secret costume is...a schoolgirl uniform?
- Not only that, but the vast majority of Beat's equippable armour/clothes is shared with Polka and Salsa instead of the other boys. Some examples include 'Gorgeous Clothes' which are described as 'Gaudy clothes adorned with jewels.' and 'Evening Clothes' which are 'Clothes for a ball at the castle.', presumably referring to a ball gown.
Viola
Voice Actors: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (English)
A woman living in the outskirts, tending to her goats while enjoying her life outside. She decides to join the group in hopes of breaking to Count Waltz the side-effects of mineral powder overdose, in order to prevent humans and other creatures from turning into monsters.
Her weapons are of bows and arrows capable of doing high damage at long range. At short range, she'll go for Good Old Fisticuffs.
- The Big Girl: She's a fantastic archer who can also defend herself with her fists. Her lifestyle shows in her combat strength. She can do more damage from a distance than Retto can up close.
- Combat Medic: She can wipe out enemies with "Sacred Strike" and then support allies with "Heal Arrow".
- Cool Big Sis: Very much so to Polka. There's a scene after the party split where she gives Polka a pep talk regarding crushes.
- Crutch Character: She's powerful when first joins because her arrows- although slow- can do absurd amounts of damage from a distance, and she has the first all-party healing tech you can get. She is also a decent Echo-builder if the player finds the need to use her in close combat. However, in the later stages of the game it becomes more important to hit faster than harder (to rack up Echoes) and other characters gain better healing abilities. This is exasperated in the PS3 version, where her firing and movement rate was lowered even further. If you can manage to get them to hit, though, her arrow attacks are more damaging in the PS3 release. Unlike in the Xbox 360 version, she is also granted a weapon that places her in permanent Burst, making her even more of a powerhouse.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Averted to her displeasure. She has a crush on Jazz but he's too focused on Falsetto (grey/brown) and Claves (red).
- Friend to All Living Things: She raises goats and has a squirrel for a pet.
- Instrument of Murder: Her bow has a Violin theme (fitting considering her name).
- The Medic: She has two healing spells.
- Mighty Glacier: A case of Shown Their Work. It takes a lot of strength to be a competent archer. While normally slow, some of her weapons have a side-effect of increasing her movement speed in battle.
- Ms. Fanservice: Look at her picture and the list of tropes that support it; Little Bit Beastly, Everyone Loves Blondes, Amazon Chaser, etc.
- Nature Hero: She's a shepherd.
- Red Mage: She can heal and fight at both close range and long distance pretty well too.
- Shipper on Deck: Regarding the developing feelings between Allegretto and Polka.
- Stripperific: There's a lot of skin showing.
- Team Pet: Her pet bunny, Arco.
Agogo Forest
Salsa
Voice Actors: Mika Kanai (Japanese), Lisa Ortiz (English)
The spunky Guardian of the Agogo Forest. Salsa was surrounded by the nature since her birth, and, with her sister March, decided to protect the Agogos while they resided in the Agogo Village. She storms to Forte earlier on to have the Count halt all excavations for mineral power on Mt. Rock, which happens to be near the Agogo Forest, only to reveal her status as a guardian and get thrown into the dungeon. Saved by the party, she travels with them to stop the Count before his plans get out of hand.
Her weapons are chakrams, with hers being Sun Chakrams, in contrast to March's Moon Chakrams.
- Badass Adorable: A short girl in a pirate hat with deadly chakram. For such a tiny little thing, she is not to be messed with.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: A mild case with Beat given their bickering.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Aside from her twin and Beat, she's the shortest and often bratty. For instance, her scene in Lament involved badgering Chopin for a snack.
- Child Prodigy: She knows a great deal about the Agogos Forest because she's one of its guardians.
- Fiery Redhead: She has long red hair and is more hotblooded and beligerent than her blue haired twin.
- No Social Skills: She's rude, bratty, and regularly points out that she's marginally taller than Beat (because of her bigger hat). Ironically, she thinks March is the one who fits this trope.
- Plucky Girl: In contrast to Polka, who has gentle determination, this girl has spunk!
- Pointy Ears: Both she and her sister have these. It's heavily implied that both are Not Quite Human, though exactly what they are is never stated specifically (perhaps some sort of elves?)
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to March's blue; more aggressive and implusive.
- Rings of Death: She fights with chakram, which are probably meant to resemble Tambourines.
- Smash Sisters: She and March are dual forest guardians.
- Super-Speed: One of the fastest members in your party along with March and Falsetto.
- Tagalong Kid: Averted. Despite her appearance she is one of two guardians of a forest that is threatened by the mineral powder mine. She travels to stop it.
- Tomboy: Her crude demeanor gives this impression and especially along side her more feminine sister.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The only difference between the forest twins is that March is a gentler Girly Girl to Salsa's rougher Tomboy.
- Tsundere: Type A, towards Beat. She likes pointing out that he's shorter than her and generally acting tsun-tsun but in the final dungeon she admits that she "wouldn't mind" Beat coming by the forest to visit.
March
Voice Actors: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese), Lisa Ortiz (English)
The second Guardian of the Agogo Forest and twin sister to Salsa. She holds a calm and kind demeanor, in contrast to her twin. She first meets the party by tending to Polka's and Frederic's wounds from the first encounter against Fugue, and asks to give her sister's favorite hat once they meet her. After Fugue's failed attempt to get the glowing Agogos, she joins the group for the same reasons as Salsa.
March uses Moon Chakrams, with nearly the same attack pattern as Salsa's. Her Skills differ greatly.
She shares most of her tropes with Salsa because they are twins.
- Badass Adorable: Like Salsa.
- Cheerful Child: Like Salsa.
- Child Prodigy: More so than Salsa because she has a scholarly interest in animals outside their forest and wants to learn more about the forest than they know initially.
- Girly Girl: She comes off as this in comparison to her sister but their activities are the same.
- Instrument of Murder: Tambourines again.
- Lightning Bruiser: While her slightly below average speed and attacks stats would seem to contradict this, her actual combat speed is the fastest in the game bar none, and the ability to pretty much always score a Harmony Chain means her damage output will never be as paltry as her stats may seem.
- Pointy Ears: Both she and her sister have these. It's heavily implied that both are Not Quite Human, though exactly what they are is never stated specifically (perhaps some sort of elves?)
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Salsa's red; more polite and cautious.
- Rings of Death: Like Salsa, she uses chakram.
- Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Averted. She is more reserved than her sister but no more shy.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Very polite, very considerate, and very effective in battle.
- Smash Sisters: With Salsa, guarding the forest.
- Stone Wall: March is a bit lacking in power and speed(as in how often she gets to take turns), but in return, her defense is second only to Crescendo, though her HP is a bit lacking.
- Tagalong Kid: Averted in the same manner as her sister.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The only difference between the forest twins is that March is a gentler Girly Girl to Salsa's rougher Tomboy.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Accentuated in the PlayStation 3 Updated Re-release where she talks about studying the forest as though she were an middle-age researcher.
Andantino
Jazz
Voice Actors: Joji Nakata (Japanese), D.C. Douglas (English)
The Leader of Andantino, an anti-government group located in Andante. A serious person but not quiet to give orders, Jazz forms the resistance in order to usurp Count Waltz on his harsh laws while being backed by Baroque. He assists the party when they realize that Waltz is far from any reason to continue as the leader of Forte.
His weapon of choice is a broadsword, capable of dealing two hits per swing and having the Echo Gauge rise by 2.
- BFS: It's as tall as he is and he wields it with both hands.
- Chick Magnet: Both members of his inner circle (Claves and Falsetto) are in love with him. Later Viola develops a crush on him. He is dating the first, aware of the second, and unaware of the third.
- Dub Name Change: From Jiruba (Jitterbug) to Jazz.In both cases, why would a game about Frederic Chopin have a character named Jitterbug or Jazz considering the fact that Chopin never lived to hear Jazz music when it was created later on? The answer is Rule of Cool and Musical Theme Naming.
- Elemental Powers: Playing with Fire, Blow You Away, Shock and Awe, Casting a Shadow, Dishing Out Dirt... Screw it, let's just say that Jazz won the jackpot at the Superpower Lottery and be done with it.
- Genius Bruiser: Smart enough to lead the rebel army and strong enough to take down lesser enemies in one hit.
- Instrument of Murder: His sword resembles a brass instrument of some type (French Horn or Trombone, take your pick)
- Made of Iron: He can take much more of a beating than his two companions.
- Mighty Glacier: He is one of the slower characters and he is also one of the strongest.
- Rebel Leader: He is The Leader of Andantino, a resistance group that works against Count Waltz.
- The Stoic: He is calm and methodical most of the time. When the root cause of the rebellion comes up, he is more emotional but still more subdued than others.
- Stone Wall: Slow and capable of taking a pounding without danger. However, this cuts into his damage potential immensely, as he gets far fewer turns, and his high ATK stat is less impressive than it may seem, as his specials are actually rather paltry compared to other members of the team.
- Supporting Leader: He leads the biggest group against the Big Bad and shares goals with the main party but has a small role in the story.
- Would Hit a Girl: He slaps Falsetto in one scene, and hugs her soon afterwards.
Claves
Voice Actors: Mie Sonozaki (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)
A top lieutenant of Andantino and ally with Jazz. She, along with Falsetto, go with Jazz during some special missions, and joins the party after they encounter the Guardian of the Agogo Forest, Salsa. She leaves the party after Rondo severly wounds her and leaves her to her death, but can return to life in the Bonus Dungeon Mysterious Unison.
She uses Royal Rapiers in battle and can use some healing Skills.
- Back from the Dead: She revives if the player completes the Mysterious Union bonus dungeon.
- Becoming the Mask: She was a spy for Forte, but fell in love with Jazz.
- Combat Medic: Like Viola, she is a fighter with healing spells.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: The single glove and legging.
- Final Speech: A long speech in this case about her regrets and love.
- Flower Motifs: Roses, if you couldn't tell by her picture.
- Lady of War: A lovely lady with an elegant sword style, especially compared to Falsetto's martial arts.
- Magikarp Power: Starts weak particularly compared to the rest of the party at this period, and after she is revived, she's at the exact same level she left at, meaning there's probably a difference of about 30-40 levels between her and the rest of your party. However, she has some of the best stat growths in the game, and at high levels, is pretty damn powerful.
- Master of None: She starts out weak, frail and pretty slow... But only at first. As she starts hitting the higher levels, she can usually compete for top stats in any category(in the 360 version, she was second only to Jazz in HP and ATK, and either tied or was just outright best in the others), meaning she will end up as a Master of All.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Two contrasts with her tomboy romantic rival are her pink hair and sweet tempered personality.
- Super-Speed: Surprised? Thanks to her high stat growths, she eventually shares the highest speed in Xbox 360 with Falsetto and is second only to Serenade in PS3. However, her combat speed is low, as she runs slow and doesn't hit fast.
- The Mole: She works for Count Waltz and provides him information about Andantino's movements. She's the reason Tuba thought the main party was from Andantino when they arrived at the castle.
Falsetto
Voice Actors: Tomoe Hanba (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)
Another top lieutenant in Andantino like Claves. Kind and tough in nature, and loyal to her leader. She also partakes in missions that directly involve Forte and Count Waltz to stop him from excavating mineral powder. She joins the party after meeting with the Guardian of the Agogo forest.
Her weapon of choice is a pair of knuckles, and can build up Echos at an above-average rate.
- An Ice Person: "SNOW CLAW!"
- Bare-Fisted Monk: She beats down enemies with martial arts.
- Big Damn Heroes: At the end of Chapter Five, she bursts into the Aria Temple to help the party fight Rondo.
- Lightning Bruiser: In the 360 version. She's the fastest character along with Claves(and is faster for all levels before the final one), has higher damage output than anyone else per turn due to superior attack power, superior special attacks, echo building and gauge boosting. Her defenses are just slightly worse than Allegretto's. Despite massively lowered stats in the PS3 version, she's arguably still one. Her only real problem is a lack of availability, and she still has more of that than more or less every character that can compare.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Constantly bemoans how she is second-place in Jazz's heart.
- Shock and Awe: Other attacks are lightning based.
- Tomboy: Her crude demeanor and fighting mark her as one, especially in comparison to her more feminine and rapier wielding teammate.
- Wolverine Claws: Most of her weapons are claws or other hand-equipped accessory.
Baroque
Prince Crescendo
Voice Actors: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Cam Clarke (English)
The Prince of Baroque and involved in its war with Forte. He often has trouble making the best decisions for his country despite trying his hardest. In the PS3 version, he and Serenade are both playable and they join the party after the battle with Count Waltz.
His weapon of choice is a shield and a mace, though they look pretty small in comparison.
- Big Good: He is the highest ranking character opposed to Count Waltz, gives directives to the main party, and supports Andantino's rebellion.
- Guest-Star Party Member: In the PS3 Bonus Dungeon, and later near the end of the game.
- Made of Iron: His armor and shield enable him to shrug off hits better than others.
- Magic Knight: He is a literal knight capable of magic.
- Martial Pacifist: Despises fighting and does all he can to avoid war, but he is a great fighter.
- Mighty Glacier: In combat, he moves slow and he hits slow, but he has some of the hardest hitting specials out there, and there is no character in the game that comes close to his defensive prowess. Despite this, his speed stat is average rather than low, so he gets to take turns pretty often, unlike fellow slow and defensive character Jazz.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Works with Jazz and is willing to work with the party to stop Waltz but also wants to keep the total collateral damage low.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He does all he can to protect Baroque's peace. Even if this means surrendering to Waltz which he acknowledges as suicide. The others chew him out for his stupid, yet well-intentioned, action.
- Stupid Good: When he decides that he can no longer support the Andantino resistance against the empire of Forte, he decides to simply travel to Forte to throw himself upon the mercy of the nation's leader, Count Waltz in the hope of negotiating. Anyone in the player party could have told him this was a horrible idea, as Waltz is a petty teenage tyrant who's been poisoning the people of his own realm with mineral powder that makes them into magic soldiers in an attempt to gain supreme power. The party immediately chases after him and upon finding him chews him out for his reckless action, but unfortunately, the next thing that happens is that said tyrant appears before the group with his right-hand man and a thunder of magical dragons.
Princess Serenade
Voice Actors: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)
Princess of Baroque and Crescendo's fiancée. A graceful and refined woman who does her best to support Crescendo and his country despite being another spy for Forte.
She wields staves, and has long-range Skills, but can only build up Echoes at a short-range distance.
- Becoming the Mask: She's a spy for Forte and it's heavily implied that she has feelings for Crescendo.
- Combat Medic: Many of her spells are attacks but one of them can heal the entire party.
- Declaration of Protection: Gender-flipped trope. The princess is the one declaring to protect the prince. "I will protect Prince Cresendo" is one of her battle quotes.
- Gratuitous Princess: Princess Serenade is from Forte, but they're ruled by a Count, who in traditional kingdoms is much lower in rank than a prince or princess. It's possible that she was given the title of princess when she got engaged to Crescendo. In one scene, Waltz refers to her verbatim as "a princess of Forte." Their Nobility Is Different From Our Nobility? There's also the possibility that women can't inherit the throne, and that Waltz is simply the closest relative(or even just a temporary ruler) but this still requires a bit of reaching. Apparently they just wanted a princess in the game.
- Guest-Star Party Member: In the PS3 version. She comes back near the end of the game.
- Idiot Hair: She isn't an idiot herself, but amusingly enough it sticks up through her tiny little crown.
- Light Is Good: From her dress to her crown to her staff, it's all white for purity.
- The Mole: She is also a spy for Count Waltz. Her purpose was to convince Cresendo against starting a war so Waltz had time to prepare. She justifies her actions by saying that she would have done such a thing anyway.
- Master of All: Serenade is the fastest character in the game, among the tankiest, has one of the best healing spells in the game, and her two Light Specials are by far the strongest attacks in the game. Not even Allegretto's Infinity +1 Sword can beat her out in the damage dealer department.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Take a look at her page image; lots of decoration.
- Red Mage: She can heal and fight pretty well with a variety of attacks and spells, especially later on.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: In the Bonus Dungeon and then in the last few dungeons of the game, she assists the player party in battle.
- Super-Speed: Noble White, an armor that only be equipped to her, increases her speed stat by 20%. Even unaugmented, at the highest levels her speed stat is the highest and exceeds even that of other characters that are known for speed, including Falsetto and Salsa. On the other hand, her movement and attacking speeds are below average.
- White Magician Girl: She looks the part, is a pacifist, a love interest and she has a move that heals the party.
- Winter Royal Lady: While she's in Baroque, she has the stylized wardrobe for it.
Villians
Count Waltz
Voice Actors: Junko Minagawa (Japanese) Liam O'Brien (English)
- Ax-Crazy: He's very good at hiding it, but he's clearly unhinged.
- Big Bad: His actions cause all the contflict in the game because all of them are harmed, in some way, by the mineral powder he's mining.
- Bad Boss: Frequently berates his subordinates, freely threatens them with death if they fail, and forces Legato to drink the mineral powder, knowing full well it will turn him into a monster
- The Caligula: He's willing to turn his own subjects into monsters to take over the world; Not the best way for a king to treat his subjects.
- Cool Crown: Because he's the ruler he gets to wear one of these.
- Evil Plan: Use mineral powder to create a Super-Soldier army and invade Baroque so he can "carve his existence" into the world.
- Faux Affably Evil: Carries an air of regality about him, but none of it is real and is only for appearances. Sometimes he won't bother pretending.
- Jerkass: Turning his whole country into a bunch of mindless slaves certainly counts towards his evil street cred.
- Lack of Empathy: His response to the news of Tuba's death? He feels more sorry for the bridge. That tells you all you need to know about him in this regard.
- Large Ham: Somehow he can chew scenery while sounding bored on his throne.
- Purple Is Powerful: He wears an outfit and crown featuring royal purple as the central color.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He's 16, an utterly spoilt brat, an egomaniac and doesn't care two shits about his subjects. To him, It's All About Me.
- Royal Brat: Technically not royal but he is the ruler and behaves like a spoiled child when one of his minions fail.
- Slouch of Villainy: He spends most of the first five chapters lounging in his throne. He even finds another one to lounge in at the top of the Double Reed Tower when the party confronts him again.
- The Sociopath: He doesn't care about mineral powder's negative side effects as long as it works.
- Straw Nihilist: Outlined in his speech in the Double Reed Tower in the PS3 version. "...all human beings are fragile. Especially those who lack power. They die quite easily. And when you die, it's over. There's just no meaning to it. .... That's why I must have power. Enough absolute power to carve my existence into the very fabric of this world."
- Taking You with Me: When beaten for the final time, he decides to take the whole world with him.
- Teen Genius: The mastermind of the whole mineral powder operation is only 16 years old.
- Villainous Breakdown: In a moment of "If I can't have it no one can", he orders Legato to destroy the world in one final blast.
- Would Hit a Girl: Slaps Polka hard enough to knock her to the ground. This was after she surrendered and he said he wanted to keep her in good health. It's another reason to hate him.
Legato
Voice Actors: Jamieson Price (English)
- Battle Butler: He is a castle servant instead of an officer but he can still fight. This is taken to extremes when you fight Count Waltz and him after he transforms.
- Beleaguered Assistant: To Waltz. He puts up with the teen's evilness.
- The Dragon: His title most be something like "Mayor of the Palace" because he is most often with Waltz and giving orders on his behalf. He literally becomes one after he transforms right before you fight him and Count Waltz, and is much more powerful besides.
- Evil Chancellor: Down Played in that while he works for the Big Bad, he's the only reasonable member of the evil team.
- Only Sane Man: Of the bad guys; he's the only one who isn't Ax-Crazy.
- Token Good Teammate: He's loyal to Waltz, but he doesn't seem quite as utterly evil as the rest of the bad guys.
Tuba
Voice Actors: David Jeremiah (English)
- Acrofatic: Is surprisingly fast for his build. You'd better be sufficiently leveled or he'll wipe the floor with you the first time you fight him.
- Bald of Evil: Except for that kickin' mohawk, he's a bald bad guy.
- Carry a Big Stick: He wields a pole arm.
- The Brute: A low ranking and dim witted officier for Waltz.
- Eyepatch of Power: Marks him as battle scared and powerful; just not smart.
- Fat Bastard: One wonders how he gets his armor around that big belly.
- General Ripper: The first thing he does when the party gets to Forte is attack them. Why? Because OBVIOUSLY they're part of La Résistance!
- Jerkass: He has no trouble smacking a small child like Beat down to the ground just because he can. Unfortunately for him, Beat isn't as weak as he looks, and manages to pay him back for this later on.
- Would Hurt a Child: One like Beat, For the Evulz.
Fugue
Voice Actors: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese) Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
- Ax-Crazy: If there's a rain and he's wet, he's going to try to kill you.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Is completely and utterly insane, yet he's also one of Waltz's right hand men.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He's eaten by a giant puffball in the PS3 version and it ate him because he kicked it.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The first time he meets Polka and Chopin, the battle is over quickly in his favor.
- The Evil Genius: He's in charge of field research for the Glowing Agogos project.
- High-Class Glass: In the PlayStation 3 Updated Re-release of the game, it earns him the mean nickname "three-eyed freak" from Salsa. Even March uses it, which is unusual, given her Blue Oni status to Salsa's Red Oni. Naturally, it really tees Fugue off. "Little girl, I hope you aren't referring to me."
- Hopeless Boss Fight: The first battle against him. It's a level 8 Polka and Frederic against him, and he can kill them both in one hit.
- J'accuse!: This is the name one of his attacks. Since Calling Your Attacks is fully in effect, you get to hear it its full glory.
- Fugue: You peasants can never appreciate beauty of this kind. J'accuse!
- Jerkass: Beats up strangers for no reason, kicks agogos to show up his meanness, etc.
- Katanas Are Just Better: There's no analogue for Japan (surprisingly enough), but he's got a katana. Given the nature of the world, it's unlikely Chopin ever saw one, so... yeah. He's an anomaly.
- Large Ham: He likes to speak and act theatrically before comitting random acts of violence.
- The Sociopath: He'll kill two innocent bystanders just because he's wet.
Rondo
Voice Actors: Yuu Asakawa (Japanese) Nicole Karrer (English)
- An Ice Person: Hell Eruption is an ice move. It's a reference to The Divine Comedy as the bottom of Hell is freezing cold.
- Ax-Crazy: Though she comes off as a bit more conniving than purely insane.
- Back from the Dead: In the Bonus Dungeon, she's back for more.
- Dark Action Girl: Very evil, very prominent in the story, and fighting her is a bitch.
- Dual Wielding: A pair of swords.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Single pauldron and kneeguard.
- Lightning Bruiser: Compared to the other members of the Quirky Miniboss Squad. She's much faster than the rest of your party (save for Falsetto), can cast slow spells, and hits hard.
- Jerkass: She killed Claves and enjoyed doing so. She also taunts Falsetto about it later by offering her Claves' position as a spy.
- Minidress of Power: Can kill your entire party easily if you're not careful, all the while wearing a tiny little miniskirt.
- Optional Boss: The player can fight her a second time in the bonus dungeon.
- Playing with Fire: She has fire power in the Bonus Dungeon.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: They're kind of red-violet, but the warning is still valid.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Inverted. Unlike Claves, she has a harsh personality.
- You Have Failed Me: Her reason for killing Claves is failing as a mole.
